As America debates action in Syria’s civil war, a new film documents boxer Muhammad Ali’s refusal to serve in Vietnam during the late 1960s.
The documentary, entitled The Trials of Muhammad Ali, highlights Ali’s resilience to his faith and a fundamental opposition to warfare prevalent today. It also spotlights his rise to the world heavyweight title at just 22 and subsequent devotion to the Nation of Islam.
A leader in the black power movement, Ali forgoes enlistment in the military due to his religious doctrine and conflicting socio-political values.
The response, as seen in the film, becomes one of his greatest hurdles outside the boxing ring.
“For all that’s been done about Muhammad Ali, this period, which to me is the most notorious, controversial, and in many ways, significant period of his life, has been underexplored,” director Bill Siegel tells theGrio. “There are timeless issues in his story about faith, about identity, about race relations, about becoming yourself.”
Fighting for separation not integration
Meant for all generations, The Trials of Muhammad Ali explores Ali’s attraction to the Islamic faith as he questions how the white race plays a role in both denying black existence and condemning it towards indefinite servitude.
He describes Christianity as a “slave-making” doctrine, and finds fury in its prominent white imagery and mythology.
After converting to Islam, Ali, born Cassius Clay, changes his name to reflect his heritage, and publicly embraces a contentious creed that expands his legacy beyond the arena.
“People in the Nation were not preaching integration, they were preaching separation,” Siegel observes. “It was really important for me to try and represent their world view at the time because in most civil rights histories, at least most mainstream civil rights histories, they’ve been dismissed or treated as a footnote. They were obviously a formidable force in Ali’s life and I think a formidable force in American society.”
From Ali’s spiritual convictions to his indomitable athletic spirit, the boxing legend quickly became a force in the Civil Rights Movement alongside Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.
The pride, confidence and irrefutability he demonstrated in the ring with his quick feet and mental prowess proved powerful when it came to commandeering a revolution.
Countering the white ‘devil’
Though Ali primarily supported Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad, he could relate to all those seeking liberation, and separated himself from anything that would taint his cause.
White people were “the devil,” and for part of his life, the boxer saw it no other way.
Such staunch beliefs inspired his opposition to the draft, as he claimed he would “not kill people to continue the domination of white slave doctrines.”
He would rather die for his faith.
“My enemy is white people, not the Viet Cong,” Ali says in the film. “You want me to go somewhere and fight, but you won’t even stand up for me at home.”
In 1967, he officially refused conscription in the military, noting, “I can’t go and shoot people, then come back and still be a ni**er.”
As a result, the prizefighter was stripped of his heavyweight title and put on trial for three years, leading to a fallout that nearly cost him his career.
“This was a period when he wasn’t allowed to box, when he was essentially banned from the sport,” says Siegel. “He was willing fearlessly to take a truly moral stance, to really represent himself, his beliefs, his principles and to make any sacrifice necessary.”
Siegel points out that most thought Ali would go to prison and never fight again, including the boxer himself.
“He was willing to do that,” notes the filmmaker.
A star’s fall from grace
While Ali faced the justice system, he nearly went broke, embarking on a second career in public speaking in order to earn money.
He also took a role in a Broadway musical that was critically denounced.
Meanwhile, the boxer was convicted of draft evasion in trial court and lost an appeal. The decision would eventually be overturned based on a loophole in the system.
“What it came down to was a question in the Supreme Court of whether or not he was opposed to all wars or whether he was selectively willing to fight in certain wars,” Siegel observes. “In the long run, Ali demonstrated his sincerity. He’s articulated well the difference between being a boxer in the ring and a soldier with a gun.”
As the story goes, Ali would box again, becoming a three-time world heavyweight champion, BBC’s Sports Personality of the Century and Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the 20th Century.
A war worth fighting
In the current political climate, where the American people and leaders stand divided on the crisis in Syria, Siegel recognizes the parallel between Ali’s decision and resistance towards the conflict at hand.
The question remains the same.
“What war is really worth fighting?” Siegel comments. “You can’t sit on the fence at a time like this. Whatever, however this plays out, you need to decide now where you are because in 10 years, you will need to be at peace with yourself and how you lived your life, and how you represented the stance you’re willing to take. Muhammad Ali, I don’t have any doubt he’s at peace with all that he’s endured in the ring and out.”
To make the film, Siegel interviewed Ali’s family and business associates, including his brother Rahman, daughter, former managers, and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who spoke on the subject for the first time. He also received approval from Ali and his wife.
The documentary has opened in New York, and will roll out nationwide through September. It contains rare footage of the boxer defending his beliefs around the country with everyone from television journalists to disagreeable college students.
Truth be told, Ali made be one of the boldest and most remarkable spirits in the civil rights and anti-war movements, however Siegel does not see him as a standalone fighter.
“Everybody has the capacity within themselves to take a stand like Ali did, but not everyone’s willing to do it,” he points out, citing Antoinette Tuff, the bookkeeper in Atlanta who recently warded off a school shooter, as an example. “She’s proof of the capacity to rise above all the noise, and truly make a stand for humanity. Whatever ridiculous senator said that the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun was proven wrong. She stopped a troubled guy with a gun with an open heart, and I think that’s what Ali did.”
Follow Courtney Garcia on Twitter at @CourtGarcia